Every time you go to the grocery store, the food prices seem to increase just a little bit more. Fortunately, technology provides a handy option for trimming your grocery bills. Grocery receipt rewards apps give you cash back on certain products after each shopping trip.
Choosing the best receipt scanning rewards apps for your needs is essential.
9 Apps to Scan Receipts for Money
Here are the best apps to scan receipts for money:
1. Fetch Rewards
- App Store Rating: 4.8 out of 5
- Google Play Store Rating: 4.6 out of 5
When you use Fetch Rewards, you earn points for every receipt you scan from any store, gas station, etc. Each receipt you scan will earn you a minimum of 25 points, but depending on what you bought, it could be more. The app partners with brands like Ben & Jerry’s, Huggies, and PepsiCo, so if your receipt from any store contains products from one or more of those brands, you’ll earn even more points.
But sometimes, it also partners with stores like Walmart and Kroger, meaning you must buy from those stores to get points. You may have to buy specific products or just scan a receipt for a particular purchase amount.
Every 1,000 points you earn is the equivalent of $1. If you’re not into buying brand-name products or Fetch doesn’t partner with brands you use, earning your first $1 through the app might take a while.
You can start trading in your points for gift cards once you have 3,000 points, or $3. There are hundreds of gift cards to choose from, including big names like Target, Walmart, and Amazon. You can also hold onto your points and wait until you have 10,000 ($10) or 25,000 ($25) to cash out. Or you can donate your rewards to charity.
Read our Fetch Rewards review for more details.
2. Rakuten
- App Store Rating: 5 out of 5
- Google Play Store Rating: 3.7 out of 5
Rakuten is probably one of the most popular and best receipt-scanning apps. It’s been around since 1997 and has paid over $3.7 billion to its members!
Rakuten offers cashback at over 3,500 stores, plus exclusive coupons and deals. The only difference with Rakuten is you don’t have to physically scan receipts; everything is digital on the app.
To find deals, browse the Rakuten app, website, or use their browser extension. When you shop online through Rakuten, they automatically track your purchases and credit you the cashback earned. If you want to shop in person, you can link your credit card to your account and activate offers to earn cash back before shopping.
Plus, if you refer friends, you can earn a cash bonus!
The only downside is Rakuten only pays once every three months. They can mail a ‘big fat check,’ as they call it, or direct deposit the funds via PayPal.
Read our Rakuten review for more details.
3. Ibotta
- App Store Rating: 4.8 out of 5
- Google Play Store Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Ibotta gives you rebates on groceries, household supplies, and personal care products. To get cash back, download the app, select the store you’re going to, browse the store’s offers, and activate the ones that appeal to you. Then head to the store, buy the products, and scan your receipt.
With Ibotta, you know exactly how much cash you’ll get for each offer. Buying a box of Kleenex-brand tissues might net you $1 while picking up Folgers ground coffee gives you $0.50.
Ibotta works at nationwide chains like Target and Walmart and regional grocery chains like Albertsons, Safeway, and Kroger. It also works at movie theaters, hardware stores, and pet stores. You can’t get cash back if you frequent your local mom-and-pop shops, though.
One of the best things about Ibotta is its flexibility. Some offers require you to shop at a particular store or purchase a specific brand. But the app also has any-item offers, which let you get cash back on any brand of a certain product, such as apples or paper towels. There are also any-receipt offers, which give you cash back just for scanning a receipt.
Ibotta also gives cash back for online shopping. If you click through to the retailer on a referral link in the app, you get a percentage of your purchase amount back. There’s also the option of linking store loyalty cards to skip the receipt-scanning part when you shop.
You can transfer your Ibotta earnings to a bank account or PayPal or pick a gift card to places like Amazon, Target, or Starbucks. You need at least $20 in earnings before you can cash out, though.
Once you start using Ibotta, you must be pretty consistent. If you stop using the app for six months, it starts deducting a monthly $3.99 inactivity fee from your Ibotta earnings until you’re back to zero.
Read our Ibotta review for more details.
4. Dosh
- App Store Rating: 4.7 out of 5
- Google Play Store Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Dosh is a cash-back app that skips the receipt-scanning process altogether. It’s a great option for misplacing receipts or forgetting to scan yours.
Once you’ve downloaded the app, connect your credit or debit card to it. You can also link the app to a Venmo or Jelli account. Dosh uses bank-level 256-bit encryption and never sells your data to third parties.
Additionally, Dosh doesn’t store banking information. To remain secure, the app uses PayPal banking vault service Braintree to store all financial information. The platform also uses multifactor and two-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized access.
That security allows you to breathe easily while you enjoy cash-back benefits. It also ensures your cash back lands in your account.
How much you earn depends on the retailer’s offer. Dosh works at more than 10,000 retailers, such as Costco and Walmart, and restaurants, such as Dunkin’ and Domino’s.
The cash back you earn is usually a percentage of your total purchase, such as 2% or 5%. Once you hit $25, you can cash out to PayPal, Venmo, or your bank account.
Read our Dosh review for more details.
5. CoinOut
- App Store Rating: 4.6 out of 5
- Google Play Store Rating: 4.4 out of 5
Many receipt-scanning cash-back apps make shoppers buy certain products or shop at certain stores to get their rebates. But CoinOut doesn’t work that way. You can scan almost any receipt for practically any product and get cash back.
CoinOut accepts receipts from supermarkets, restaurants, coffee shops, gas stations, or pretty much anywhere that gives you a receipt with a purchase. However, ATM receipts, non-English language receipts, and handwritten receipts don’t count.
What’s the catch? You have no idea how much you’ll get when you scan your receipt. The cash back is completely random, so you might get just a penny after you send in your receipt. CoinOut doesn’t say how much you can potentially earn, but it does note it sets a minimum and maximum amount daily.
There’s also a limit to the number of receipts you can scan daily, which changes. But you have two weeks from the date of the receipt to scan it, so if you hit the limit one day, you can just wait.
When it’s time to access your earnings, you can have the app direct deposit the cash into your bank account, send the money to your PayPal account, or pick an Amazon gift card.
The amount you earn depends on your level. The more you use the app, the higher the level you reach. The levels go from Bronze to Diamond and the prizes increase at each level. Each prize has a different minimum, but they start as low as $3.
You won’t see amazing savings using CoinOut, but it’s easy enough to use that it’s worth trying.
6. Checkout 51
- App Store Rating: 4.6 out of 5
- Google Play Store Rating: 4.2 out of 5
Checkout 51 lets you browse offers from well-known brands, like Chobani and The Laughing Cow, and add the ones you like to your list. You can sort by product category or store; many products are available at multiple grocery chains. Additionally, Checkout 51 also lists several basic food items, such as bread and eggs, that are eligible for cashback regardless of the retailer.
Offers go live at midnight on Thursday in each time zone and expire the following Wednesday at 11:59 pm. You must snap a copy of your receipt while the offer is still active. Because offers are available in limited quantities, it’s important to check your Checkout 51 shopping list before your next shopping trip to ensure offers are still available.
Once you’ve finished shopping, you snap a photo of your receipt. When the app approves your receipt, it adds cash back to your account. You can cash out once you’ve earned at least $20. You can choose PayPal or a paper check.
Checkout 51 members can also earn cashback on fuel purchases at gas stations like Shell, BP, Exxon, and Chevron.
Read our Checkout 51 review for more details.
7. Shopkick
- App Store Rating: 4.6 out of 5
- Google Play Store Rating: 3.8 out of 5
Shopkick is a rewards app that lets you collect points when you scan receipts or scan a few barcodes. You can also earn points, which the app calls “kicks,” for watching online videos or reading product descriptions on your phone.
If you want cash back without ever making a purchase, Shopkick is the app to try. It also rewards you when you make purchases at participating stores or order something online through a link in the app.
How much you earn depends on your activity level. Walking into a store might earn you 10 kicks. Scanning a product can give you 30 or so kicks. When you buy something in-store using a card you linked to the app, you earn 6 kicks per dollar spent.
The app gives you a list of stores that offer kicks near you. Options vary by location but might include popular stores like Walgreens, Walmart, and Aldi. Some stores give you kicks just for entering, but others require you to scan a product or purchase something. The app lists what activities are valid at each retailer.
You can redeem your kicks for gift cards from retailers like Starbucks, Sephora, Target, and Amazon.
8. Receipt Hog
- App Store Rating: 4.7 out of 5
- Google Play Store Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Receipt Hog is one of the best receipt rewards apps because it’s simple to use. They’ve been around since 2011, making putting more money in your piggy bank easy.
With Receipt Hog, you can earn cashback by shopping in-store or online. After downloading the app, upload paper or digital receipts and earn rewards! They also offer a bonus to earn more money by taking surveys. The more receipts you upload, the more in-app survey opportunities you’ll get.
The nice thing about Receipt Hog is you get rewarded from any store and any brand. Each time you earn cashback, you get coins for your virtual piggy bank in the app. You can redeem your rewards for PayPal cash or gift cards to stores like Amazon.
You’ll need 1,000 coins before you can cash out, but it’s not hard to achieve if you consistently upload receipts.
9. ReceiptPal
- App Store Rating: 4.5 out of 5
- Google Play Store Rating: 4.0 out of 5
ReceiptPal also makes it easy to turn your receipts into cash. After downloading the app, you can upload paper receipts from anywhere or link your email or Amazon account to get points for your Amazon purchases.
You can redeem your rewards for cashback or gift cards to major retailers. When you download the app, you can see the available prizes and how many points you need to achieve it.
However, be careful. If you become inactive, which means not using the app for 90 days, it will wipe out your accumulated points, and you must start again. However, they do send in-app reminders beginning at 30 days before expiration.
How Receipt Rewards Apps Work
There are plenty of receipt-scanning and shopping apps, and each works slightly differently. Some make you wait to reach a certain payment threshold before you can cash out. Many pay via PayPal, but a few offer gift cards instead.
While there are key differences between each app, each one works similarly. The process is generally as follows:
- Install the app. Most of the apps work for either iOS or Android phones.
- Browse and choose offers. Some apps feature products or offers, which you must activate before scanning your receipts.
- Go grocery shopping. Buy the products you activated exactly as instructed. Some deals may be for specific sizes or even certain stores, while others may offer deals at any store or for any product or line a brand offers.
- Upload receipts. Once you get home, take a picture of your receipt with the app. Some apps also allow you to scan bar codes.
- Earn cash, points, or rewards. You earn rewards, points, or cash back once the app approves the receipt.
Since these mobile apps are free to use and have different offers, try a few to see which ones you like best. You may be able to use several on the same shopping trip.
FAQs
What app rewards you for uploading receipts?
Believe it or not, many apps pay you for simply uploading receipts. You can use multiple apps to maximize your earnings, just be sure to choose the apps you’ll use consistently, as many will zero out your rewards if you are inactive for too long.
Some of the best receipt-scanning apps include Receipt Hog, Fetch Rewards, and Ibotta. Each works a little differently, with some allowing you to upload receipts from anywhere and others requiring specific purchases.
Are receipt rewards apps legit?
You might think it’s strange that an app would pay you to upload receipts, but they are legit (at least the ones we listed). Many of the apps receive a commission from the brands they promote. When you buy the item based on the information provided in the app, they earn money and then share the commission with you.
Of course, like anything online, there are scams, so make sure you do your research and ensure an app’s legitimacy before uploading receipts.
Can you scan too many receipts on Fetch?
Fetch allows users to upload up to 35 receipts in a 7-day window. This period is rolling, though, so you can upload more as old receipts fall off your limit.
Is CoinOut worth it?
CoinOut is a fun and easy-to-use receipt-scanning app. It doesn’t pay a ton, but it takes only a few seconds to upload receipts to either few coins. Your savings can add up if you’re consistent in your efforts to earn money on CoinOut. While it won’t get you rich, every penny counts!
Is there a better receipt rewards app than Fetch?
Fetch is one of the more popular receipt apps, but it’s not the only one. The nice thing about Fetch is you get points for any receipt, not just specific ones.
Of course, you earn more money when you buy the specific item required, but earning 25 points per receipt isn’t bad. If you want other options, Ibotta, Checkout 51, and Dosh are great choices too.
Final Word
A receipt scanning rewards app is just one of many ways to save on groceries.
You can maximize the benefit you get from the apps by doubling up. For example, you can use an app that accepts any receipt, like CoinOut and Fetch Rewards, and one designed for purchasing specific products, like Ibotta or Checkout51, simultaneously.
You won’t get rich using the apps, but they can shave a bit off your grocery bills, and as food prices keep going up, every little bit of savings helps.
